Information
Annual Illinois Emerging Writers Competition Entry Forms Available
Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White announced that entry forms are available for the 15th annual Illinois Emerging Writers Competition Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award. The competition is open to Illinois residents age 18 and over. Entries must be postmarked by June 30. Cash prizes will be awarded for first ($500), second ($300) and third place ($100). Winning poems will be submitted for possible publication in the “Ninth Letter,” “Quiddity International Literary Journal and Public Radio Program,” and “RHINO Poetry” journals.
Entry forms.
For more information, contact Illinois Center for the Book Coordinator Bonnie Matheis at 217.558.2065.
Alzheimer's Association Calendar of Events
Support Group Calendar June 2021.pdf
Program Calendar June 2021.pdf
Illinois Courts recently launched a new product to help connect people to the information they need to represent themselves in a court case. Illinois Court Help is a free service that library staff can recommend to patrons.
Staff and patrons can also access this Illinois Court Help Digital Toolkit for informational materials in English and Spanish. The toolkit contains ready-to-print flyers and posters and a business card librarians can share with patrons, as well as other materials such as social media content.
PROMOTIONS & EVENTSSYNC Audiobooks for Teens: Listen All Summer Long!
Get ready for summer with FREE audiobooks!
SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for teens 13+. Returning April 29th and continuing 13 weeks until August 4th, SYNC gives participants two thematically paired audiobooks a week. We encourage you to sign up today at www.audiobooksync.com. Listening Library is proud to be involved with this wonderful program once again and will be sponsoring two weeks and a total of four terrific titles this year.
MacKids School & Library
One of our most anticipated picture books of this year is Dear Librarian by Lydia M. Sigwarth; illustrated by Romina Galotta. Inspired by a This American Life episode about the power of libraries, this is the ultimate love-letter to librarians everywhere. We're celebrating Lydia's story and librarians everywhere this week by kicking off a monthlong contest where YOU can nominate your favorite librarian for a chance to win a $1,000 AmEx gift card, plus a collection of books. Nominate here!
Natalie Portman, Academy Award-winning actress and New York Times-bestselling author of Natalie Portman's Fables has been named honorary chair of National Library Week! Check out this piece to learn more about her lifelong love of libraries!
Poetry Writing Tips from Amanda Gorman
https://storage.googleapis.com/classroom-portal-production/uploads/2021/03/853d18cf-amanda-gorman_poetrytips.pdf?ref=PRH29DE00BF5E64&linkid=PRH29DE00BF5E64&cdi=23CF0FA8BA8D2BF3E0534FD66B0A902E&template_id=20577&aid=randohouseinc36206-20
Publisher's Weekly’s 2020 Person of the Year:
The Book Business Worker
Library workers
From the start of the Covid crisis, the nation’s 300,000 librarians and library workers quickly pivoted to provide new services to the reading public, including a rapid shift to digital. That shift, however, was not limited to providing more e-books and digital audiobooks. It has also meant virtual storytimes for kids, Zoom book clubs, online author events, and other digital programs and events ranging from knitting clubs to language classes. It has meant creating and marketing new programs for students and teachers as schools nationwide were forced to go remote. And it has meant boosting libraries’ Wi-Fi signals, as library parking lots have become refuges for some of the more than 20 million Americans who still lack access to broadband.
As weather improved over the spring and summer, many libraries undertook some form of curbside service, where patrons could check out books, devices, and other physical resources online and pick them up outdoors. The Denver Public Library set up an outdoor laptop rental service, allowing those without access to technology at home to sit at properly distanced tables and use library computers. And like a number of libraries, Denver used its bookmobile to bring food and other necessities to its patrons, in addition to books.
These changes have required library workers to build the proverbial airplane as it is flying, securing their own appropriate personal protective equipment, crafting and enforcing new social distancing policies, and reconfiguring libraries with less furniture, more space between computers, hand sanitizer stations, spit guards, and plexiglass dividers. Libraries now have contactless checkouts, new cleaning procedures, and materials quarantines, and have undertaken efforts like OCLC’s Project Realm, which delivered key research on how long the virus can survive on various surfaces, including wood and metal shelving, plastic CD covers, and, yes, books.
And Covid wasn’t the only major challenge librarians took on in 2020. Amid the anger, outrage, and protests that followed the killing of George Floyd, the library community stood up to acknowledge systemic racism in the U.S.—including in public libraries—and then went to work. Libraries and library organizations across the country issued statements of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, provided expanded access to racial and social justice collections, and offered safe spaces for community conversations on race and equity.
More importantly, librarians have put libraries under the microscope. “Libraries as an institution are taking a stand against systemic racism, making books about anti-racism and the African American experience available to readers—and this is good,” Carmi Parker, ILS administrator at the Whatcom County Library System in Washington State, told PW over the summer. “But libraries are also recognizing that we, like the police, are an institution embedded with systemic racism. We say that the library is for everyone, but that won’t be true until our staff, patrons, and collections reflect the populations in our communities.”
While library workers have stood up for their communities this year, they also stood up for themselves. As the Covid crisis hit, an idealized narrative of selfless hero librarians began to take root in the media. The reality on the ground, however, was grim: too many librarians and staff were being asked to work without proper protective equipment or safety precautions, were terrified of becoming sick, and were facing uncertainty and economic ruin as layoffs and furloughs mounted. Some public library workers were even ordered by their municipalities to redeploy from their closed library buildings to shelters, makeshift testing facilities, or other frontline, high-risk jobs.
“The flipside of all of these feel-good pieces on digital story time, backyard summer reading, and boosted Wi-Fi signals in the parking lot is library workers forced to do jobs they never signed up for [and] scolded for their attempts to fight for their well-being,” wrote Massachusetts librarian Callan Bignoli in a May editorial in Library Journal. “It’s time to say, ‘Not anymore.’ ”
Also honored, Publishing workers, Warehouse workers & Bookstore workers.
All In Person Library Programs and the use of the library conference room are cancelled until further notice.
Our WiFi is accessible from the street in front of the library and does not have a password at this time, so anyone who needs a connection may use it.
We have added many new links for children as they are out of school and adults under the Information tab (under more at the top of the page). There are many companies who are offering free services during the pandemic and that information is on that page or the eBook page where we have added information about eBook resources that you don't need to have a library card to access as well as new links for many great resources! To access our online resources, please see the tabs at the bottom of this page. To find information about the eBook resources our library offers click on the RSA Catalog tab. There is an explantation for each of the online resources at the bottom of this page above the tabs.
As this is an ever changing event, we will continue to monitor the directives provided by federal, state and local governments to ensure the library’s response is proactive and prioritizes public health while balancing the need for public services. Please continue to check the web site for updates. Thank you in advance for understanding as we work to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and we encourage out patrons to take measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 also. We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these unprecedented times.
If you have any questions, please feel to call the library at 309-742-2431 or email us at elmwoodlib@gmail.com.
What you can do to help:
Your help is greatly appreciated to help minimize the spread of disease. Here are some simple steps you can take to help.
My Library Is...
NICK OFFERMAN EXPLAINS WHY LIBRARIES ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
In a new promotional video from the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS), actor Nick Offerman stars as the Wizard of the World Wide Web, convening an emergency meeting of the elders of the internet.
In the video, avatars representing pop-up ads, social media and other fixtures of online life have assembled at a secret internet headquarters to discuss a grave matter: humans have realized that libraries are even more powerful than the web.
Offerman explains: Libraries have real people. They get to know you and offer reading recommendations more personalized than any algorithm. They can even tell the difference between real and fake news. He continues,“Libraries have all the information that anyone could ever need, plus real spaces, fun educational programs, meet-up groups…you can even get a flu shot at the library.
http://www.ilovelibraries.org/article/nick-offerman-explains-why-libraries-are-more-important-ever?twitter
More information can be found on My Library Is ... for Library Lovers page at https://www.mylibraryis.org/librarylovers. While there, you can take the Library Lovers Quiz!
Reminder
Children under the age of eight must be accompanied by an adult or responsible caregiver at all times while visiting the library. At this time we are not allowing children to visit without their parent(s).
The Morrison and Mary Wiley Library supports the right of all library users to access information and will not deny access to electronic information networks based solely on age. Children under the age of 10 may use the computers when a parent is present. Those over 10 must have a signed Computer Use Policy on file to be able to use the computers
Annual Illinois Emerging Writers Competition Entry Forms Available
Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White announced that entry forms are available for the 15th annual Illinois Emerging Writers Competition Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award. The competition is open to Illinois residents age 18 and over. Entries must be postmarked by June 30. Cash prizes will be awarded for first ($500), second ($300) and third place ($100). Winning poems will be submitted for possible publication in the “Ninth Letter,” “Quiddity International Literary Journal and Public Radio Program,” and “RHINO Poetry” journals.
Entry forms.
For more information, contact Illinois Center for the Book Coordinator Bonnie Matheis at 217.558.2065.
Alzheimer's Association Calendar of Events
Support Group Calendar June 2021.pdf
Program Calendar June 2021.pdf
Illinois Courts recently launched a new product to help connect people to the information they need to represent themselves in a court case. Illinois Court Help is a free service that library staff can recommend to patrons.
Staff and patrons can also access this Illinois Court Help Digital Toolkit for informational materials in English and Spanish. The toolkit contains ready-to-print flyers and posters and a business card librarians can share with patrons, as well as other materials such as social media content.
PROMOTIONS & EVENTSSYNC Audiobooks for Teens: Listen All Summer Long!
Get ready for summer with FREE audiobooks!
SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for teens 13+. Returning April 29th and continuing 13 weeks until August 4th, SYNC gives participants two thematically paired audiobooks a week. We encourage you to sign up today at www.audiobooksync.com. Listening Library is proud to be involved with this wonderful program once again and will be sponsoring two weeks and a total of four terrific titles this year.
MacKids School & Library
One of our most anticipated picture books of this year is Dear Librarian by Lydia M. Sigwarth; illustrated by Romina Galotta. Inspired by a This American Life episode about the power of libraries, this is the ultimate love-letter to librarians everywhere. We're celebrating Lydia's story and librarians everywhere this week by kicking off a monthlong contest where YOU can nominate your favorite librarian for a chance to win a $1,000 AmEx gift card, plus a collection of books. Nominate here!
Natalie Portman, Academy Award-winning actress and New York Times-bestselling author of Natalie Portman's Fables has been named honorary chair of National Library Week! Check out this piece to learn more about her lifelong love of libraries!
Poetry Writing Tips from Amanda Gorman
https://storage.googleapis.com/classroom-portal-production/uploads/2021/03/853d18cf-amanda-gorman_poetrytips.pdf?ref=PRH29DE00BF5E64&linkid=PRH29DE00BF5E64&cdi=23CF0FA8BA8D2BF3E0534FD66B0A902E&template_id=20577&aid=randohouseinc36206-20
Publisher's Weekly’s 2020 Person of the Year:
The Book Business Worker
Library workers
From the start of the Covid crisis, the nation’s 300,000 librarians and library workers quickly pivoted to provide new services to the reading public, including a rapid shift to digital. That shift, however, was not limited to providing more e-books and digital audiobooks. It has also meant virtual storytimes for kids, Zoom book clubs, online author events, and other digital programs and events ranging from knitting clubs to language classes. It has meant creating and marketing new programs for students and teachers as schools nationwide were forced to go remote. And it has meant boosting libraries’ Wi-Fi signals, as library parking lots have become refuges for some of the more than 20 million Americans who still lack access to broadband.
As weather improved over the spring and summer, many libraries undertook some form of curbside service, where patrons could check out books, devices, and other physical resources online and pick them up outdoors. The Denver Public Library set up an outdoor laptop rental service, allowing those without access to technology at home to sit at properly distanced tables and use library computers. And like a number of libraries, Denver used its bookmobile to bring food and other necessities to its patrons, in addition to books.
These changes have required library workers to build the proverbial airplane as it is flying, securing their own appropriate personal protective equipment, crafting and enforcing new social distancing policies, and reconfiguring libraries with less furniture, more space between computers, hand sanitizer stations, spit guards, and plexiglass dividers. Libraries now have contactless checkouts, new cleaning procedures, and materials quarantines, and have undertaken efforts like OCLC’s Project Realm, which delivered key research on how long the virus can survive on various surfaces, including wood and metal shelving, plastic CD covers, and, yes, books.
And Covid wasn’t the only major challenge librarians took on in 2020. Amid the anger, outrage, and protests that followed the killing of George Floyd, the library community stood up to acknowledge systemic racism in the U.S.—including in public libraries—and then went to work. Libraries and library organizations across the country issued statements of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, provided expanded access to racial and social justice collections, and offered safe spaces for community conversations on race and equity.
More importantly, librarians have put libraries under the microscope. “Libraries as an institution are taking a stand against systemic racism, making books about anti-racism and the African American experience available to readers—and this is good,” Carmi Parker, ILS administrator at the Whatcom County Library System in Washington State, told PW over the summer. “But libraries are also recognizing that we, like the police, are an institution embedded with systemic racism. We say that the library is for everyone, but that won’t be true until our staff, patrons, and collections reflect the populations in our communities.”
While library workers have stood up for their communities this year, they also stood up for themselves. As the Covid crisis hit, an idealized narrative of selfless hero librarians began to take root in the media. The reality on the ground, however, was grim: too many librarians and staff were being asked to work without proper protective equipment or safety precautions, were terrified of becoming sick, and were facing uncertainty and economic ruin as layoffs and furloughs mounted. Some public library workers were even ordered by their municipalities to redeploy from their closed library buildings to shelters, makeshift testing facilities, or other frontline, high-risk jobs.
“The flipside of all of these feel-good pieces on digital story time, backyard summer reading, and boosted Wi-Fi signals in the parking lot is library workers forced to do jobs they never signed up for [and] scolded for their attempts to fight for their well-being,” wrote Massachusetts librarian Callan Bignoli in a May editorial in Library Journal. “It’s time to say, ‘Not anymore.’ ”
Also honored, Publishing workers, Warehouse workers & Bookstore workers.
All In Person Library Programs and the use of the library conference room are cancelled until further notice.
Our WiFi is accessible from the street in front of the library and does not have a password at this time, so anyone who needs a connection may use it.
We have added many new links for children as they are out of school and adults under the Information tab (under more at the top of the page). There are many companies who are offering free services during the pandemic and that information is on that page or the eBook page where we have added information about eBook resources that you don't need to have a library card to access as well as new links for many great resources! To access our online resources, please see the tabs at the bottom of this page. To find information about the eBook resources our library offers click on the RSA Catalog tab. There is an explantation for each of the online resources at the bottom of this page above the tabs.
As this is an ever changing event, we will continue to monitor the directives provided by federal, state and local governments to ensure the library’s response is proactive and prioritizes public health while balancing the need for public services. Please continue to check the web site for updates. Thank you in advance for understanding as we work to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and we encourage out patrons to take measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 also. We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these unprecedented times.
If you have any questions, please feel to call the library at 309-742-2431 or email us at elmwoodlib@gmail.com.
What you can do to help:
Your help is greatly appreciated to help minimize the spread of disease. Here are some simple steps you can take to help.
- Wear a face covering your nose and mouth.
- Practice social distancing.
- Wash hands frequently using the World Health Organzation (WHO) video on hand washing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PmVJQUCm4E
- Practice good hygiene by regularly disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and avoid touching your face.
- Cover your coughs or sneezes.
- Stay home if you are sick or have sick family members at home.
My Library Is...
NICK OFFERMAN EXPLAINS WHY LIBRARIES ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
In a new promotional video from the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS), actor Nick Offerman stars as the Wizard of the World Wide Web, convening an emergency meeting of the elders of the internet.
In the video, avatars representing pop-up ads, social media and other fixtures of online life have assembled at a secret internet headquarters to discuss a grave matter: humans have realized that libraries are even more powerful than the web.
Offerman explains: Libraries have real people. They get to know you and offer reading recommendations more personalized than any algorithm. They can even tell the difference between real and fake news. He continues,“Libraries have all the information that anyone could ever need, plus real spaces, fun educational programs, meet-up groups…you can even get a flu shot at the library.
http://www.ilovelibraries.org/article/nick-offerman-explains-why-libraries-are-more-important-ever?twitter
More information can be found on My Library Is ... for Library Lovers page at https://www.mylibraryis.org/librarylovers. While there, you can take the Library Lovers Quiz!
Reminder
Children under the age of eight must be accompanied by an adult or responsible caregiver at all times while visiting the library. At this time we are not allowing children to visit without their parent(s).
The Morrison and Mary Wiley Library supports the right of all library users to access information and will not deny access to electronic information networks based solely on age. Children under the age of 10 may use the computers when a parent is present. Those over 10 must have a signed Computer Use Policy on file to be able to use the computers